Adeliea
by Jillie062
Summary: [Hiken, Kenkari] [SemiAU] After being thrown into a new world, Kaiser and Kari must team up or risk losing their lives. They must fight together and learn the secrets of their forgotten pasts.
1. Dreamlike Whisper

The digidestined were called to the Digital World at age 16 instead of 11/12.

Ken is still the Kaiser and he has run away to the Digital World at this point.

Yeah, there is some OOC but it is slightly AU so please forgive me.

/I went back and edited this chapter. I also put in some of Ken's thoughts.\

Ages:

Kari, Ken, TK, Davis, Yolie: 16

Matt, Tai, Sora, Mimi, Izzy: 19

Cody: 13

Joe: 21

**Adeliea**

**Chapter One: Dreamlike Whisper **

Kari darted into the computer room quickly and shut the door behind her. She skipped her daily trip to the locker to avoid meeting up with the others. She usually met up with TK and Davis at her locker, ran into Yolie right after, and looked for the Digimon while they waited for Cody to get out of school. But she couldn't deal with everyone that particular afternoon. TK and Davis had begun to openly compete for her affections, constantly forgetting that she had turned them both down. Earlier that morning a simple game of dodge ball had turned into an all out war between the two. And although neither of them would admit it out loud, the fight had been over Kari. Winner would have the right to date her, or something to that affect.

Yolie didn't make things any easier. She loved the drama that Kari's love life involved and was always putting her two cents in. After the little dodge ball escapade had occurred, Yolie had been the one to relay the events to Kari. Of course, Yolie had her opinions about who Kari should date, but that was a topic that was not discussed between the two girls- not that Yolie didn't try.

Everyone had just gotten so… _frustrating._ Kari needed some time away from everyone, just to think and be alone.

The Digital World seemed like the perfect place, so long as she wasn't attacked while she was there alone. She wasn't expecting to be there long. No doubt TK and Davis would figure out that she had gone there and follow her there. Finding Gatomon would have been a smart idea, but that would waste time and Kari was feeling too restless to wait. "Digiport open!"

(0)

Ken awoke with small beads of sweat running down from his forehead and a scream trapped in his throat. The dream he had been having… it was important somehow. But like all dreams that he tried to remember, it was gone within moments.

Cupping his face with his hands, Ken roughly rubbed his cheeks and wiped away the cold sweat. He sat up and swung his feet around the side of the bed. _Why did I decide to take a nap? Stupid Kaiser, you should have known you'd have a bad dream._ For weeks Ken had had terrible nightmares and yet he could never remember what they were about. They took so much energy out of him that he thought he was better off not sleeping. He'd gone the night without going to bed, but he only lasted till mid-afternoon before fatigue overpowered him.

"Damn dreams," he complained. The worst part was he was so close to remembering them he could almost relive the dream in his mind. But no, it was not close enough.

A loud shrieking alarm went off. It was a signal that the Digiport had been activated. "The digidestined are here." _Maybe something exciting will happen and I'll wake up a bit more._

The alarm continued to sound as Ken made his way down the corridor from his personal chambers to the Control Room. He set up the program to sound like that of a bird shrieking: it matched the digidestined in annoying quality.

Shutting down the alarm and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Ken decided to check out where the digidestined had come in. He had the computer locate where the Digiport had been activated and brought up the surveillance cameras.

He gasped when he saw her, and the feeling of the dream being within grasp overpowered his senses. He felt like he was seeing her for the first time, though he'd faced her and her allies many times. _What was her name…Kari?_ "Kari," the name felt right rolling off of his tongue. "And she's alone…"

(0)

She arrived in an open area of the forest; there were trees to the left and behind her, as well as a little ways ahead of her, and a stream on her right. She walked forward for a while and sat against a tree. A gentle breeze blew her hair back and Kari felt more relaxed immediately. She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe of the cool, crisp air. She didn't hear the footsteps that drew ever closer, and she scarcely hear a person sit down beside her.

She was slow to open her eyes, assuming that it was either TK or Davis. It was neither of the afore mentioned boys, however. It was the last person she wanted to run into by herself. It was the Kaiser. "Ken," she whispered, fear lightening the volume of her voice. So much for being safe in the Digital World by herself.

"Where are your friends?" he asked.

"They're nearby."

Ken smirked. He knew that she was the only one to pass through the gate. But her fear bothered him. _Why do I care?_ He ignored the feeling and continued to taunt her. "Is that so? I was pretty sure that you came here alone. Any particular reason why?"

"None of your business," Kari replied softly. Her irritation was returning and pushing back some of her fear.

He leaned in closer to her but she backed away. "You look afraid," Ken said calmly. He placed a hand on her cheek but she slid backwards and stood up. Ken grabbed her wrist quickly to prevent her from escaping. "Do I scare you?"

"Let me go!" she shouted as her backed her up against the tree.

"Not until you tell me why you're here."

She fought him, unwilling to answer his question. "Let go," she repeated finally, using her free hand to try to pry his hand off of her wrist.

He grabbed her other wrist and tightened his grip on both. He smirked again, causing her fear to intensify. He raised her hands above her head and pushed the backs of her hands against the tree until the bark began to tear into her skin. Leaning in closer, Ken pressed his lips against hers. Kari was too shocked to react at first.

She tried to scream but Ken took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. Releasing her hands, Ken held onto her cheeks. Eagerly exploring the inside of Kari's mouth, it seemed like she had gotten into it as well. Kari raised her hands and grabbed his forearms but did not try to pull him away.

He'd done this before; he didn't know how it was possible, but he could almost remember kissing Kari before. It was like almost remembering a dream. He couldn't explain it but the passion he felt, the burning desire; he'd definitely felt this before.

Time stood still as Ken brought his body closer to hers. He tilted her head a bit further to the side and deepened the kiss. "Shit!" Ken backed away and spit; blood and saliva banded together on the blades of grass.

Wiping under her lip with the back of her hand, Kari glared at Ken. "Don't ever touch again," she warned.

_She bit me! That bitch!_ Ken rushed at her again, pushing her against the tree with all of his strength. She groaned in pain. He kissed her again; hard this time, with no passion or desire, only force.

And he kept his tongue in his mouth.

Kari fought him. Her plan had backfired and now she had pissed Ken off. She beat on his chest until he grabbed her and forced her to stop.

A birdlike shriek went off from within one of Ken's pockets. He pulled away slightly, met Kari's lips again for a second, and then backed away. He took out his travel alarm and turned it off. "Tell Davis that I said hello," Ken said before turning and walking away, leaving Kari alone and confused.

She sank down against the tree and rubbed her aching wrists. She sighed deeply, making a mental note not to go the Digital World alone again.

Voices were heard not too far off and Kari recognized them as those of her friends. TK and Davis came running, stopping just before crashing into the tree. "We've been looking all over for you," Davis panted.

"Why didn't you wait for us? What if something happened to you?" TK demanded.

Kari slipped her hands into her pockets to hide the scratches from the two teens. Gatomon stood a little ways back, leading the remainder of the group to Kari and the boys. "Well, nothing happened so you don't have to worry." Mentioning her encounter with Ken would be a bad idea; TK and Davis would flip out. Besides, Ken had only kissed her so why bother worrying them?

"What if something had happened?" TK pressed. "What then?"

The others arrived in time to see Kari snap at TK. "Thank you for having so much confidence in me, TK. Now, if it's alright with you, I'm going home." The others exchanged glances before following after her. Kari was never so angry, or at least she never _acted_ like she was angry.

"Do you still want me and TK to come over?" Yolie asked.

"Huh?" Kari questioned.

"To work on the project for health," she explained.

Oh, yeah, sure. Why not?" Kari hid her discontent. A full day at school with TK and Yolie and then most of the evening? She wasn't sure that she could survive. "Digiport open."

(0)

Davis reluctantly parted ways with the group as Yolie and TK followed Kari off of the elevator while Davis remained to reach the next floor. Cody had taken the digimon to his house because Armadillomon wanted to have a sleepover. Kari opened her purse and searched around for her keys.

"Perfect," she mumbled, realizing that she didn't have them. Hopefully Tai was home and able to hear the doorbell.

She rang, waiting impatiently for the door to open. When it did, she saw someone she wanted to see less than Ken. Matt had come to answer the door with Tai. They were laughing at one of Tai's stupid antics but became serious when they saw her.

"What are you doing here?" Kari asked Matt, her voice colder than usual.

"I invited him over," Tai said, glancing nervously at Matt. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here!" Kari snapped.

Tai laughed stupidly. "I meant, what are you doing home so early?"

"Nothing much was happening in the Digital World today." Kari pushed past Matt without looking at him or bothering to excuse herself. "I have a headache; you two can set up in the living room while I find some Advil. I'll be out in a few."

Yolie and TK stepped inside, both stared intently at Matt. TK glared at his brother and shook his head. "Why are you here? You aren't welcome."

"I invited him over, this is my place too, and therefore I give him all the welcomeness required to enter this dwelling." Tai smiled and crossed his arms over his chest, feeling very intelligent.

"What are you up to?" Yolie asked the older teens. "You aren't trying to reconcile, are you? I'm voting for you, by the way." TK's eyes narrowed in Yolie's direction.

"I didn't know she was going to be home early today," Matt explained.

"Whatever," TK growled before turning and heading towards the living room. Yolie followed knowing full well that he was pissed at her for her comment.

Tai glanced at Kari's room before looking at Matt. "You might not have another chance," he warned.

Matt nodded and walked towards Kari's bedroom, preparing himself for a possibly violent conversation.

(0)

Kari was rummaging through her desk drawers trying to find supplies needed for the project. She had already found scissors, glue, tape, and markers, but the colored pencils and construction paper had eluded her detection. A knock was administered against her door. "Come in," she called, her attention still focused on the contents of the drawer.

Before she could look up, Kari felt someone's arms wrap around her. She jumped, recalling the events earlier that day. She turned to see who it was. "Matt," she hissed, pushing him away. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"I wanted to talk to you…" Wrapping his arms around her was not really 'talking' but it was a good way to start, or so he believed.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," she replied, cutting him off. "I have things to do, anyway."

"You can't avoid me forever," Matt insisted.

"I don't need to talk to you now!"

"The project can wait until later; just give me five minutes."

"No, it can't. TK has a basketball game tomorrow, and then Tai and I have to go out to dinner with our grandparents. Sunday Yolie is working all day. The project is due Tuesday so we have to get most of it done tonight. So, no, I don't have five minutes to give you. Not that it would do any good, anyway."

"Damn it, Kari, how many times do I have to tell you I'm sorry?"

"It loses meaning when I hear it so often. It won't do any good no matter how many times you say it."

"But I didn't kiss her! She kissed me!"

"I know, so did the other ten girls I've heard about you kissing. Honestly, I'm not that stupid. I'm not going to forgive you so you can cheat on me again." Kari felt her eyes burn with tears; tears that she would not allow to fall.

"It won't happen again, I promise."

"You're right, it won't. I'm not going to give you that chance. You, TK, Davis, and Ken, you're all so…frustrating!"

"Ken? What does he have to do with this?"

Kari mentally slapped herself. Matt didn't know about the kiss, and he wasn't going to find out. "He's trying to take over the Digital World."

"What can I do-?"

"Nothing! We are over! For good! Why can't you understand that?" Kari grabbed the supplies off of her desk and left the room. Matt stood there, unable to accept what had happened.

Tai walked in. "It didn't sound like you had any luck."

Matt shook his head. "She totally hates me."

"You should probably get going; give her some space."

"Alright," Matt agreed. He walked out of the room with Tai, taking a moment to watch Kari as she, TK, and Yolie began working. She didn't look upset, but he figured that she was. And it was his fault. He was the idiot who let members of the opposite sex cloud his senses and ultimately ruin his relationship with Kari. Now he was expected to stand aside and watch as his little brother and Davis fought to be with her?

He wasn't sure if he could do that.

(00)

Better?

TK's name is all caps!

_Chapter revision completed June 23, 2006_

_Chapter reposted June 29, 2006_


	2. Disappearing

This chapter has been edited.

**Adeliea **

**Chapter Two: Disappearing **

Kari was silently plotting out how to kill her brother in his sleep. It had started out as such a nice Sunday, too. Yolie had gotten off work early and the gang had decided to spend part of the afternoon in the Digital World. Tai had overhead part of Kari's phone conversation with TK and asked if he could tag along. That wasn't the problem; Kari just assumed that he missed Agumon and wanted to see him. She didn't know that he was plotting against her.

He'd agreed to meet them at Izzy's since the school was locked. Davis had come over to walk with Kari but Tai wasn't ready yet so he asked for them to wait for him there. Tai showed up at Izzy's ten minutes after Davis and Kari had arrived. Matt was with him. Kari did not understand her brother in the least. He never approved of any of Kari's boyfriends, but suddenly he's in love with the idea of his little sister getting back together with the older guy that had cheated on her. Kari could only assume that her brother had gone mental.

Nothing was actually said about Matt's being there. Cold stares from TK and Davis and a dreamy sigh from Yolie were the only acknowledgements. Yolie loved a good drama and Kari's love life was like one of those really pathetic soap operas that only Americans watch. She wanted to get her back together with Matt, but Kari wouldn't listen. If _she_ had a gorgeous rock star after her, she would give him another chance. Hell, she'd give him as many chances as he wanted!

"Well, maybe someone should open up the portal now," Izzy suggested in a worried voice. He had never seen so much tension among the males of the group and didn't care to see his room become the place where the tension became too great.

"I will," TK said finally. He held up his D3 to the computer. "Digiport open!"

They arrived on the other side of the digiport in a forest. Two reptile digimon were waiting for them. "Agumon!" Tai yelled, opening his arms to grab onto the orange digimon that was running towards him.

"Tai, I've missed you!" Agumon buried his snout into Tai's chest. "It's been far too long since you've visited!"

The second digimon, Gabumon, ran to his partner as well. "Matt, I'm glad you decided to come too." He hugged his human partner fiercely.

"Anytime," Matt replied.

Kari made a disgusted face and walked off. TK was quick to follow her. Taking a step forward, Matt was ready to follow as well, but Tai grabbed his arm. "Remember what we talked about," he warned.

Matt sighed in defeat. Tai knew Kari better than anyone, except maybe Gatomon, and he knew Matt wasn't about to win Kari back by nagging her. She needed space; when someone tried to push Kari into something, she backed off. Matt had only tagged along to keep an eye on TK and Davis and prove that he wasn't just a jerk, not to harass Kari. He sunk down to the ground heavily.

"So," Yolie said, taking a seat on the ground right after Matt had, "what's your plan?"

Davis snorted. "Maybe he could jump off a cliff and die. That would make everyone a whole lot happier."

Cody wrapped his hand around Davis' forearm and dragged him away. "Come on Davis, let's go somewhere else." Their digimon partners followed close behind as Cody led Davis away.

Yolie smiled gratefully at her younger friend's actions. Cody had read her mind. As odd as it was, Cody was the most mature of the group and although 'love' wasn't really his area of expertise, he knew that Davis and Matt would quarrel over their shared love interest. What he lacked in years he made up for in maturity. "Well?" Yolie asked, returning her attention to Matt.

"Plan? What are you talking about?" he asked innocently.

"Don't act like I'm an idiot. How many times has Kari broken up with you now? Seven?" She watched Matt cringe. "Exactly, you better have one hell of a plan if you're going to try to get her to forget about that."

"I don't have a plan; I just need to make sure that my dear little brother doesn't do anything to sabotage my chances before I figure one out. I just need to prove that I'm not the same jerk I was before."

"That's going to be hard," Yolie replied harshly. "She won't even let me bring you up. Believe me, I've tried to get information about your current relationship but she just refuses to talk about it. But, luckily for you, she doesn't like TK or Davis or anyone else in our school."

Tai joined the circle and sat down. "So she hasn't said anything to you about Matt?"

"She never tells me anything when it comes to her and guys. She doesn't like sharing her problems with anyone."

"She doesn't like talking to me, either." Yolie whipped her head around and found Gatomon was behind her. Hawkmon, Patamon, Agumon, and Gabumon were nearby, but they didn't want to interrupt their partners. "Not a lot, anyway, but I can get some things out of her. I can always tell when something is wrong so I can sometimes convince her to talk to me."

"Anything about me?" Matt wondered aloud.

"Nothing you'ld want me to repeat. You should give up on her; even if she does forgive you, the last thing she needs is a boyfriend. She won't open her heart up to you or anyone for that matter. Not with what's happening-" the white feline covered her mouth instantly.

"What are you talking about?" Tai asked.

"Nothing!" Gatomon shouted.

"Gatomon! Tell me!"

"Damn it. Alright, I'll tell you what I know, but I can't say much since Kari won't tell me what's going on. She's been sensing something; something big is going to happen, and soon."

"Why hasn't she mentioned this to anyone?" Yolie asked.

"Because she doesn't want to worry anyone when she doesn't know for sure if she's right. All she has to go off of is her dreams, but she can't remember what they're about after she wakes up. Every night she wakes up in a cold sweat and ready to scream, but she can't remember what her nightmares are about. All I know for sure is what I get from her talking in her sleep."

"What does she say in her sleep?" Tai inquired, suddenly feeling ashamed that he knew nothing about this.

"She always says the word 'Adeliea.' I don't know who or what it is, though." Gatomon frowned slightly. "If you say anything about this, I'll kill you in your sleep."

"Note taken," Tai replied. "How long has this been going on?"

"A few weeks. She's been really fatigued and on edge lately, too." The cat's ears perked up. "Something is wrong!" She took off in the direction that Kari and TK had headed.

(0)

Pacing back and forth as he often did, Ken tried to focus his mind. Sundays were supposed to be work days; the digidestined seldom ever came to the Digital World on Sundays. But Ken couldn't concentrate on work. Other things were occupying his attention.

He'd slept well for the first time in weeks that Friday night. It took him forever to fall asleep, but his dreams were pleasant and the sleep was refreshing. Still, all Ken could think about was when he'd met up with Kari alone. He tapped his fingers against the desk as he passed it. He had work to do but he was so distracted. He had even turned off all of the alarms and told Wormmon that no one was to disturb him, but his mind wandered despite the lack of external distractions.

He thought that he had kissed Kari to scare her, but he had been more affected than he had anticipated. Ken's lips still tingled from their meeting.

Slamming his fist against the desk, Ken cursed aloud. "Goddamn stupid, idiot Kaiser! What were you thinking?" _You were thinking that you wanted her, Kaiser._ He turned and left the lab knowing that he wasn't going to be able to concentrate on his work.

He walked briskly to the Control Room and sat down in front of the computer. The surveillance cameras went set to shift from one area to another in periods of ten seconds. Ken pressed the button to freeze the cameras. _Damn it!_ He stared in disbelief at two of his enemies. "Why did I turn off the alarms?" Shifting the focus to that area alone, Ken did not find any of the other digidestined in that location. "Cody and Davis would not come alone…"

Ken let the cameras shift to another area. When it changed again, Ken saw Yolie, Tai, and Matt sitting in a circle. Gatomon was there also, but not Kari. _Where is she?_ Something wasn't right, since when was the Kaiser concerned about his enemy? The lavender haired girl did not affect him like this. He didn't even want to send out his slave digimon in case she was nearby.

A giant envelop appeared and covered the camera shots. Ken clicked on it suspiciously and gasped when the message popped up. One word was written in the e-mail, filling a vertical space of five feet and a horizontal space of about ten feet. The word was Adeliea.

Wormmon had told Ken that he;d been saying that word in his sleep, but Ken dismissed it as meaningless because he could not remember his dreams. He checked for a sender address, but there was none.

The lights in the Control Room flickered and then went out, leaving Ken standing in the dark. He panicked, looking around himself in vain for any sign of light. A sharp pain shoot across his forehead and Ken fell to his knees. He looked around and saw the room warping in and out of existence. No, _he_ was warping in and out of existence.

The lights turned back of and the e-mail shut down. The room was empty.

(0)

Kari sat herself down on a fallen tree. She ignored TK as he sat down beside her. "Do you still love him?" he asked abruptly.

Kari looked up at TK, surprised by his question. "Sort of," she admitted, letting her attention wander to the tree bark as she traced her finger along the crevices. "But it doesn't matter, we won't get back together."

"And what about me?"

Kari sighed deeply. She was hoping TK would not get into their relationship. He had made it pretty obvious when she first started dating Matt that he didn't approve and his recent feuding with Davis made his intentions clear. She preferred TK's usual style of not asking questions and figuring things out for himself. She didn't want to hurt her best friend, but Kari failed to realize that her silence was breaking his heart.

"Do you think you could ever love me the way you love Matt?" TK lifted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"I don't know…I don't know how I'm going to feel about you or Matt or anyone else, or when I'm going to feel it. Honestly, the last thing I need right now is a boyfriend." She stopped before she said anything incriminating.

That wasn't really what TK wanted to hear. He was hoping for a more solid yes or no type of answer, but the Chosen of Hope received no such vindication. He wanted to know, at least, that a piece of her heart belonged to him.

Kari stood and turned away from him. "We should start heading back," she whispered, her voice full of sadness. Why did everyone want her to choose all of a sudden? She just wanted to get over Matt and not have to worry about getting involved with another guy that could break her heart. At least she knew that Davis didn't really love her; just the idea of being with her. She had that at least, knowing that his crush on her couldn't last forever.

The thought of boys was giving her a headache. Or, maybe, it was the lack of restful sleep she had been getting. Either way, her head began pounding.

TK looked up towards Kari as she began walking away. She staggered slightly and then fell backwards. TK jumped up and caught her in his arms.

"Kari!" TK heard Gatomon's voice a short distance off.

"Gatomon," he called back. Gatomon came through the clearing with Yolie, Matt, Tai, and their digimon following close behind.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I don't know, we were talking and she was fine, and then she just passed out." TK cradled Kari closer in his arms, subconsciously trying to hurt his brother.

Matt kneeled down in the dirt. TK glared a warning to his older brother. "Relax, TK" Matt chided. He placed two fingers on her wrist. "Her pulse is normal."

"…Adeliea…" Kari mumbled.

Tai looked nervously at Gatomon. The feline offered no condolences as her eyes grew wide with worry. "This may be the something that she's been expecting to happen," she spoke softly.

Clouds gathered in the sky and blocked out the sun. The shadows from the trees and the darkness from the sky made it nearly impossible to see. TK could be heard screaming out Kari's name.

The clouds dispersed as quickly as they had come. TK was on his knees; his arms still out and empty. He dropped them to his sides. He looked up at Matt. "She disappeared," he whispered. "I felt her just vanish…"

(00)

Better?

_Chapter revision completed June 27, 2006_

_Chapter reposted June 29, 2006_


	3. The Old Seer

This chapter has been edited.

**Adeliea**

**Chapter Three: The Old Seer**

The rays of sunlight beat tauntingly down on his closed eyelids. The sun warmed his cheeks and the rest of his body, causing the young genius to begin to awaken. Even with his eyes closed, Ken could feel the intensity of the sun, which he hadn't felt in a long while. Not since before he started wearing his sunglasses. But the sunglasses weren't protecting his eyes from the light, which could mean only one thing: he wasn't wearing them.

Wait… the Control Room had no windows for sunlight to get through; it was in the center of the base and the walls did not reach the outside. Ken could wrap his mind around the idea of his sunglasses falling off, but there shouldn't have been any natural light falling on him anyway.

Reluctantly, Ken opened his eyes. He had to squint because the sun was shining directly above him. _It must be about midday._ Ken never slept until midday; with his dreams, he didn't stay in bed after seven.

Movement distracted him. He looked down and saw that there was someone sleeping on his chest. Her peaceful breathes were only audible if Ken strained to hear them. Though her face a hidden from him, as her head was angled downward, Ken was fairly certain that Kari's head was resting on him.

But why was he outside sleeping with one of his enemies? And why was he moving his hand to the small of her back that very moment? Ken decided to care later, that he was just going to enjoy the moment for the time being. He knew that he shouldn't be relaxing when he was in the presence of his enemy, and when he had no idea what was going on, but he really just didn't care. Maybe when she woke up she could give him some answers so why not enjoy himself for a while?

He moved a little too much while wrapping his arm around Kari and caused the young teen to stir. She opened her eyes leisurely before noticing the soft, rhythmic rise and fall of whatever she was sleeping on. She lifted her head slightly and saw she was lying beside another person, using him as a pillow. Tilting her head upwards, she saw Ken and gasped.

Ken pretended to be asleep until he heard Kari gasp. He opened his eyes slowly and passed her a questioning glance. "Get away from me!" she demanded as she scrambled backwards to get away from him.

"You do realize that you were sleeping on me?" he asked, feigning a yawn as he sat up. He put his hands behind him and leaned back, his fingers sinking into the grass. He noted the lack of gloves around his palms.

Ken finally noticed that he wasn't wearing his normal outfit that the Digimon Kaiser wore. He was wearing a simple navy blue short sleeve shirt and jeans. There were no accessories covering his hands or eyes but his hair was still spiky. _Spiky hair means that we aren't in the Real World. At least I'm not wearing that ugly gray school uniform._ Looking up at Kari, he couldn't help but stare.

"What?" Kari asked after he sat there staring for a moment.

"You look…different."

Kari exhaled deeply and shook her head. Black locks fell into her face. "What the…" She grabbed onto a few strands of hair and examined them. Her hair was black with golden colored highlights streaming throughout. It was angled around her face so what would have been her bangs were just shy of shoulder length and the rest fell to the middle of her back. She looked at her hands and saw that they were not covered by those hated pink gloves, but she was wearing a completely new outfit. Kari's attire consisted of a short sleeve, v-neck shirt that was dark brown in color, and dark blue jeans. She looked back at Ken, noticing that he was dressed differently as well, and that he was now avoiding looking at her. She sighed with frustration. She had to be stuck with _him_. "So where are we?"

Ken's eyes shifted back to Kari. Her eyes were a deep amber in color; redder than they had been before. "How should I know?" he asked, trying not to lose himself in her ruby orbs.

"Like you aren't responsible for us being here?"

"You think I did this?" Ken's voice grew with irritation. Of course she would blame the bad guy; typical heroine assumption.

"How else would we have gotten here?" she shouted back. It didn't feel like the Digital World, it lacked that data feel that the Digital World held. Tai had told her that being in the internet was a lot like being in Digiworld, it made people feel like they weren't made out of flesh and blood. This place had more of a Real World feel to it, like she was actually in her body and not a virtual representation of it. The trees nearby and the grass did not have the animated look to them like those of the Digital World, either.

Ken was about to yell about how he wasn't even sure where 'here' was; he too had realized that the place was not digital, but it did not look like Japan. But he was interrupted by a loud screeching noise like nails on a chalkboard.

A spider the size of a medium sized shed was fighting his way through the trees the two teens had woken up just passed. "Is that a digimon?" Kari whispered fearfully; she was terrified of spiders.

"I-I don't think so," Ken replied. The monstrous arachnid bent his body sideways and forced himself between two trees, cracking them in the process. He pushed his body through the rest of the trees. Ken and Kari hurried to get to their feet and backed away slowly.

Ken threw himself against Kari and knocked her to the ground with him on top of her. "What the hell-" she stopped, saw that one of the spider's barbs was stuck in the ground where she had been standing seconds before, and realized that he had just saved her. That was unexpected.

"You're welcome," Ken hissed as he pulled Kari back to her feet. He grabbed her arm and yanked Kari forward, prompting the girl to run.

The spider freed his leg from the earth and gave chase to the two. His screeches made both Ken and Kari cringe as they ran for their lives.

"What is it and what does it want?" Kari asked as they ran.

"A giant spider, obviously, and I'm going to guess that he wants us for his next meal. Would you care to find out?" he asked sarcastically.

Kari just shot him a sideways glare and continued running. "Stupid cynical bastard," she whispered angrily.

They continued running through the fields with the spider's long legs coming ever closer to tearing into their backs. The field had grass that reached the middle of their bodies and made it difficult to run. Luckily, the spider was also having trouble; his legs continually became intertwined with the long blades of grass that scratched at him.

A village was seen not too far into the distance. Outside the village was a white line, one that looked like one of the lines drawn on a soccer field with powered chalk. _If we can just make it passed that line…_ He wasn't sure why, but Ken knew that that line was important.

A cry of pain was heard from the spider. Ken and Kari looked back and stopped running when they saw what had happened. The large, black arachnid hissed in pain as he tried to claw at the air. Well, it looked like he was clawing the air, save for the sparks of light that were produced from the slashing.

"It's a demon barrier." Ken and Kari whipped around at the sound of a new voice to find a little old woman sitting on a rock. "Poor things, you look awful."

_Why hadn't we noticed her before, when we were running in that direction?_ Ken was too busy trying to catch his breath to care. Both he and Kari were breathing hard and were too tired to try to comprehend what was going on. Demons? Well, the Digital World could be ruled out for sure.

"Come on now; let's get you over to my home where you two can get some rest."

"How about we get some answers?" Kari asked, trying to sound polite although her patience had long since run out.

"Of course, my dear, now let's get going."

Ken and Kari followed the older woman suspiciously. Ken didn't like the look of her; she had wrinkled skin that had been tanned from long days in the sun and gray hair that was tied back into a tight bun. Her eyes were too small for her face and were almost black in appearance; they were such a dark shade of brown. Her chin was cleft and defined, and her cheek bones stood out too far giving her a caved in look. She was short, shorter than Kari, and the hem of her hose reached the ground. A grey long sleeve shirt was tucked into her pants and the hose were black in color.

Despite his reservation about her, the duo followed the creepy old woman into the village. They looked over their shoulders every so often to make sure that the spider was still on the other side of the barrier.

The woman's house was small and an identical model as every other dwelling they could see. All the houses were made of wood and looked as if dust had been allowed to settle on them for years. The only noticeable difference between the woman's house and the others was that her house had a flap door made of sewn together straw and grass so that it could be pushed aside rather than opened. Every other door was made of wood and had a handle attached.

A young man of about twenty years pushed aside the straw door just as the old woman was reaching out her hand to move it out of her way. "You're back; I was beginning to get worried that they weren't here after all."

As if reading their minds, the old woman explained who the young man was. "This is my son, Luther. Luther, Dear, these two are a bit shaken up from a run in with a spider demon. Would you be a dear and go kill it while I help them?"

Kari looked out at Luther. He was over six feet in height and could have been considered handsome if his nose was not being shown. It was long and crooked, like it had been broken one too many times. His hair was a chocolate brown and long enough to pull into a low ponytail. His hair was slicked back and pulled tight into the confines of a hair band. His shoulders were broad and Kari could see a strap that went over his left shoulder and across his stomach diagonally. There was a large, duel-sided axe strapped onto his back. "You're going to go kill it?" Kari asked uncertainly.

Luther's hand wrapped around the hilt of the sword attached to his belt. "Yes Dear, kill it," the old woman answered. "Spider demons have very powerful venom, though it's probably a good thing that you don't know that first hand. I extract parts of the venom and use them for different potions. There are other useful parts as well, but I don't want to bore you and keep you in the doorway. Come inside, both of you, we have much to discuss."

"Just as long as you stop saying 'dear'" Ken said sourly. He followed the old woman into the older fashioned dwelling as Luther stepped away and headed towards the outskirts of the village.

"Now then, Dears, my name is Usma. I am the village seer."

"Seer?" Ken questioned. "And what the hell does that mean?"

Oh, you're so polite," Kari said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Ken retorted lamely.

"You two get along better than I would have expected. 'Specially since you are being such a brute, Ken. My dear, it was a miracle that you tamed him once, I'll be amazed if you can do it again." She gave a meaningful look to Kari.

"What are you talking about?" Kari questioned.

"How do you even know my name?" Ken demanded. He did not like the old woman in the least. _She must be crazy, Kari taming me? If anything it would be the other way around. No! she's the enemy and it will stay that way. _"You're insane, Lady, you know that?"

Usma's smile faded as she recognized that she had said too much. "Aye, young one, that is true. Never mind this old woman's discourse. I say things sometimes that I do not mean." She chuckled nervously and hoped that the two teens would forget her previous comments. They were not ready for the truth, not yet. "A seer is one who is able to see into the future and sees things that are not in range of normal perception."

"So you knew we were going to be here. Where is here exactly?" Kari asked.

"This is the land of Adeliea. We are in the small village of Shany; it holds little significance when compared to Adeliea's greater cities."

_Adeliea._ Ken and Kari tried to hide their shock as the word echoed over again and again in their minds. _This is a little too weird to be a coincidence. _"Is this world parallel to our world?" Ken asked.

"It is indeed, but you both would know that if you would listen to your dreams a little better. Have you not sensed the world calling to you? Honestly, if I couldn't _feel_ the power of you Gifts lying dormant within you, I'd say you were just two ordinary people."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't had any dreams about this place and I don't have any 'Gift.'" Ken was lying through his teeth, he just didn't know to what extend.

"Of course you don't," the old woman said with a wink.

Kari shook her head. She pushed back of few stray strands of her black hair before looking Usma in the eyes. "My gift is dangerous," she explained. "Gennai warned me that if my powers grew than the powers of darkness would grow as well."

"Aye, but that was in the World of the Digital. Here, you must develop your powers or you will not survive for long."

Ken let his jaw drop. _Kari has powers?_ "I'm stuck here with two mental people; it must be my lucky day."

Kari scoffed at him. "Shut up, idiot."

If Usma wasn't standing between them, Ken would have slapped her right then and there. _Who the hell does she think she is?_ "Say that again, bitch!"

Usma raised a hand into the air. "Calm down both of you. I swear, if you two don't learn to get along than you'll have a difficult time completing your quest."

"What quest?" Ken growled.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you. The journey and its destination are for you to find out for yourself. I have something that will help you greatly on your journey, but I cannot give it to you until Luther returns."

Kari shook the annoying locks from her face again. "No offence, but I don't want anything from you unless it's a one-way ticket home."

"Home? I don't have that kind of power. I _see_ things, I don't _make_ things happen. Besides don't you want to learn why you have been brought here?" Usma handed Kari a hair-band to tie her hair back with.

"No," Ken answered for the both of them.

Usma exhaled and her tiny eyes narrowed into slits at Ken. "Why don't you to go rest while we wait for Luther to return?"

"How about you give us some straight answers instead?"

Usma pointed her fingers towards the bedroom and mouthed the word 'rest' at him. Ken glared at the old woman as he walked away and Kari followed silently behind.

She smiled slightly as she watched the teens retreat into the bedroom. "She's as strong willed as they said and he's as fiery as I've heard. Hopefully Hikari will be able to tame his restless spirit once again so they may save Adeliea."

(00)

Better?

Hehe, I made Kari's hair black in another fic! But black with golden brown highlights, that's hot!

Oh, and I had a bit of trouble describing Usma's outfit, but it's supposed to be like the one Kaede wears (from Inuyasha) if a visual comparison could be made. But her pants weren't as wide and it was black and gray rather than red and white.

_Chapter rewritten June 27/28, 2006_

_Chapter reposted June 29, 2006_


	4. Usma's Gift

This fic is the one I go to when I can't sit down and write for any other of my stories. I will probably plan the story out before I make anymore posts only because right now I only have major events planned out in my head.

Make sure to reread chapters 1-3. I rewrote them!

**Adeliea**

**Chapter Four: Usma's Gift**

Luther walked up the slope of the small hill as he neared the demon barrier. The spider demon was still trying to break through the aura that the white line emitted. He whistled as he went, readying his hand to draw his sword. The spider demon screeched at the approaching intruder and backed away, only to ram his body against the barrier. Small flecks of blood sprayed passed the barrier. A small smile graced Luther's lips as he saw that the demon had already injured himself trying to break through. The demon would be an easy kill for sure.

Sizing up the demon, Luther found him to be only about ten feet in height; his legs stretched eight feet long at the most. Four of his legs were already streaming with blackish-red blood; the front two on both sides and the next two in line on his right side. Luther drew his sword and held it up in front of his face. The entire length of the sword was just over four feet and the hilt made up one of them. It was a simple single-edge two handed sword with nearly enough room on the grip between the pommel and the quillian for both of his hands. Luther just used the ricasso and put his hand on the unsharpened portion of the blade when he actually needed his second hand to have enough space.

He wanted to finish off the spider demon quickly and return to the village. Luther side stepped passed the barrier and the spider turned to follow his movements. The giant creature lifted his front legs defensively and slashed in the air as a warning. Luther pounced forward and rolled on the ground, landing in a sitting position beneath the arachnid. He thrust his sword upward into the soft underbelly of the black beast and blood oozed down on his broad shoulder.

Another screech echoed through the air as the spider tried to claw at Luther beneath him. Luther untied his axe and cut at the legs as they neared his flesh. Losing balance, the spider fell sideways and Luther backed away to avoid the flailing ligaments. Removing his sword would be foolish at the point since all eight legs were moving wildly around his belly. Luther walked around the fallen spider demon and raised his axe above its head. Using both hands, Luther swung downwards against the arachnid's neck. He grunted as the axe sliced through bones and cut into veins, prompting a spurting of blood into the air. Slowly, the movements of the limbs stopped and the spider became still. His screams were reduced down to a faint wail and then died off altogether. Luther removed his axe and the head of the spider loped to the side, barely connected to the body anymore.

Luther removed a leather pouch from his belt and filled it with blood before securing it tightly. Returning to the side of the demon, Luther withdrew his bloody sword. He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and sighed deeply. The thing hadn't put up much of a fight but it still took quite some strength to kill.

Placing his free hand on the ricasso, Luther sliced downward where the limb connected to the main part of the demon's body and one leg fell to the ground. He repeated the action twice more on the legs that were in better shape before approaching the face of the spider. He sliced out the fangs and attached them to his belt, put the limbs around his shoulders, and lit the body on fire so that no other demons would come and make a meal out if it.

(0)

There was one bedroom in Usma's house, which contained two small cots on opposite sides of the room. Ken collapsed on the one closer further from the doorway and closed his eyes. He wasn't tired, but he was too upset to do anything. Kari pulled her hair back into a lose ponytail before sitting down on the free cot. She looked over at Ken, who appeared to have fallen asleep.

Sighing silently, Kari lay down as well. She stared at the ceiling for a while before closing her eyes. She didn't know what to think about the current situation, and she didn't want to think about the possibility of being forced to go on a quest with Ken. She had known that something was going to happen, but she didn't expect to be transported to another world with her enemy. Suddenly she regretted not telling Tai about her dreams, though she had not wanted to worry him in the first place. He was going to freak out and her parents…she could only image how they would act when they found out she had disappeared.

Gatomon had warned her not to keep her suspicions to herself, and now she wondered if it would have helped any if she had told TK or Davis. They'd have sworn to protect her, of course, but could they have actually helped?

Ken found the cot he was lying on to be extremely uncomfortable. The wood base beneath it could be felt through the thin cotton mattress and the wool blanket he was on was scratchy. _Maybe I should go lye down next to Kari._ Ken's eyes shot open. _Stop thinking like that!_ He didn't understand how Kari affected him, she either made him angry or he felt indecisive when she was near, but either way he felt weak around her.

It was like his dreams; the answers to his questions were so close, yet he could not grasp onto them. Kari was something that he did not understand, and that was a scary thought in itself. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he wanted to. He wanted to get inside her head and figure out the girl that he was now going to be forced to travel with. In a way, he was excited about the prospect of an adventure, but he hated being in the dark about all of it.

Usma entered the doorway of the room. "Dears, Luther is about to return. You must get up so I may prepare your gifts."

Ken was all too eager to get off the scratchy cot but Kari was slow to get up. She yawned and stretched her arms above her, allowing Ken to see her defined, although relatively small, biceps. He sighed at his own weakness towards the enemy and quickly exited the room to avoid staring.

Usma led Ken into what he assumed to be the living room, though it wasn't much to look at. He took a seat in one of the wooden chairs and rapped his fingers impatiently against the armrest.

Kari was exiting the bedroom just as Luther was returning to the dwelling, and gasped at his appearance. Dry blood ran down the length of his sleeve, dying the white shirt to a dark crimson color. He greeted her with a small smile, ignoring the slightly disgusted face she was wearing. "That isn't your blood, is it?"

"No," he replied simply, ever a man of few words. "I am uninjured," he added as he tossed the three limbs onto a dark oak table. The bag of blood and fangs were added to the collection of body parts that were being piled on.

"You killed that thing and didn't get a single injury?" Ken questioned with disbelief.

"Yes. The creature was weakened by his attempts to break my mother's barrier. Barely put up a fight at all."

Kari cringed as she envisioned Luther fighting the spider demon. Looking at the collection he had gathered, Kari suddenly felt ill. Strangely enough, she was not bothered by the fact that Luther had gone out and killed something without so much as a second thought, but the dismembered body parts made her nauseous. "My friend, Yolie, would have freaked out on you if she knew that you killed something."

"Does she know that either I kill it or it kills the two of you?"

"Why us," Ken asked.

"It was sent after you," Luther explained.

"Stop scaring them," Usma scolded. She carried a cooking knife with her as she looked over the legs. With one swift movement, she cut each of the legs in half, and continued until each leg was divided into four pieces. There was a black cauldron over the wood in the fireplace and Usma took the blood pouch and dumped the contents into the cauldron. She added water from the kettle that was on a cooling rack near the fireplace until the cauldron was almost filled. The cut up ligaments were added to the mixture, as were the fangs. A flame was shot out from her finger and the wood beneath the cauldron with ignited.

Humming to herself, Usma left the room and went into the bedroom. She returned cradling something wrapped in blankets. Kari and Ken watched with heightened interest as Usma unwrapped the concealed object-objects. A long rusted sword and a dagger, much in the same condition were revealed. The old seer dipped the blades into the cauldron and they disappeared into the concoction even though the sword was longer then the container it was dropped into.

The blades seemed to soak up the blood and water mixture and the water level decreased. Usma turned away from the mixture and glance over at Kari. "Something you said before has been troubling me, Dear. You said that you were told you're powers were too dangerous to learn to control them, does that mean you have ne'er tapped into them?"

Kari shook her head. "I have used them, a few times."

"Aye, that is better than nothing. And when did you use them, if I may ask?"

Kari thought for a moment. "The first time was when I was eight and we were fighting the Dark Masters in the Digital World. They were some really screwed up but really powerful digimon. I got sick one day while we were walking and my brother had us go into a city. It was Machindramon's city, one of the Dark Masters. Basically we were attacked and separated; two of my human friends and three of our digimon were with me. While we were going through the sewers we found a bunch of Numemon being held prisoner and I freed them with my powers. My light gave the digimon enough strength to digivolve and my brother's digimon beat Machindramon." Kari stopped, realizing how stupid she sounded. She was like a human light bulb, not very impressive when it came down to it.

"Any other time?" Usma pried.

"There was one other time. It happened a few months ago, when these digimon were trying to take me to their world to help them. They were trapped in the Dark Ocean with dark spirals attached to them and they had used up all their power to bring me there. I removed the spirals, but I found out…they had ulterior motives."

"They wanted to use your powers for their own purposes?" Usma inquired.

"More or less."

"Wait just one second. You removed MY dark spirals from the digimon?" Ken shouted.

"Yeah."

"And they weren't being controlled? They would not have called for your help if they were being controlled!"

"Maybe you're not as powerful as you thought," Kari growled. She didn't know why but Ken got under her skin so easily. "They were able to think for themselves."

Ken crossed his arms over his chest. _I'll show you who has the power around here._ He glared at Kari, but lacked a rebuttal.

"I think it's safe to assume that you have only been able to draw out your Gift when there are those in dire need of your aid."

Kari shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"You'll have to learn to bend your Gift to your will. It was given to you for a reason." Usma smiled softly and turned back to the contents above the burning wood pieces. She tipped the cauldron sideways and let the blood water drip down onto the flames, extinguishing them. She grabbed a cloth and wrapped it around the handle of the black container before lifting it off the wire it was attached to and setting it on the cooling rack.

Removing the two weapons from the cauldron, Ken and Kari could see that they were not bloody at all. Usma handed the sword towards Ken and the dagger went in Kari's direction. "These are supposed to be what you're giving us?" Ken asked. "I'm not going to touch that and burn myself."

Kari saw that Usma was holding the hilts with no problem and considered taking the small weapon. Luther handed Ken and Kari a scabbard each, which they tied onto their belts. With some hesitation, Kari gingerly took hold of the dagger which was, as she had expected, quite cool. She wasn't sure what possessed her to take the weapon, but it felt like the dagger was calling to her, like it belonged to her.

She made a simple flicking motion with her wrist and was surprised at how natural the blade felt in her hand. The weapon was about a foot and a half long with its hilt included. Her hand fit perfectly around the grip. The pommel was crescent shaped and the quillian curved slightly downward on both sides. The blade itself had an aqua blue tint and the forte was decorated with intertwining aqua lines. It was double-edged with a tapered tip.

Ken sighed before taking his blade. It was just over three and a half feet. Rolling it over between his hands, he did not understand how this shining metal blade was the same weapon as the rusty thing Usma had thrown into the mixture. The blade was silver but the hilt was decorated with golden patterns and a light, almost transparent, green emerald was in the center of the round pommel. Two grooves ran parallel down nearly the entire blade on both sides, making a fuller on either side. It was a double-edge as well, and could be served as either a single or double handed blade. Ken sheathed the long sword into his scabbard.

Luther handed Kari a quiver of arrows and a recurve bow that was a quarter less than four feet long. "You'll need to get a chest plate and an arm guard," he advised.

"The quiver has been enchanted," Usma began. "So long as you will it, there will be arrows for you to use."

Kari didn't know how to 'will' the arrows or the quiver, but she didn't really want to ask. The old woman was beginning to freak her out. "Thanks," she said simply.

The quiver had a string attached and Luther helped Kari to tie it around her. It went over her right shoulder and across her stomach, much like Luther's axe had done. The arrow fit nicely into a groove that was carved along the side of the quiver where she could grab it with ease.

"I am afraid that tomorrow morning I must send you off. I can provide you with a direction and a few things for travel, but this is your adventure to figure out. You may sleep in the bedroom tonight, but at sunrise I will see you off. You may have been enemies in this World of the Digital you speak of, but now you must depend on each other to survive."

Ken and Kari looked at each other with narrowed eyes. That was not what either of them wanted to hear.

"You're really going to send us off when there are spider demons out there? We don't know how to defend ourselves!" Kari argued.

"My dear, there are things far worse than spider demons out there. This I can assure you."

(00)

If you're all like 'what the hell are these words she's using to describe the weapons? WTF I'm confused!" Then don't worry. Just let me know and I can explain them to you, I did my research. (I'm very proud of myself, BTW.)

_Chapter Started June 28, 2006 _

_Chapter finished and posted June 29, 2006 I finished just after midnight. That sucks_


	5. The Bandit Asato

**Adeliea **

**Chapter Five: The Bandit Asato**

Ken found himself once again lying on the scratchy cot. Kari was asleep on the one on the opposite side of the room, which apparently was more comfortable. Ken shifted his weight onto his side so that he was facing the wall. He'd been staring at the outline of Kari's sleeping form and was beginning to suspect that to be the reason he couldn't sleep.

A strange feeling overcame Ken and the air around him felt warped. He closed his eyes and rolled over again. A noise startled him and he opened his eyes to see what the disturbance was; a door slamming shut? _What the hell?_

_Ken sprang up into a sitting position. His hands sank into the plush carpet that covered the ground. Usma's bedroom had vanished and now he was sitting in someone else's room. "Where am I?"_

_Ken stood up and took notice of his surroundings. There was a large fireplace against the wall behind him, with a small fire lit within it. The mantle was bare save for two small knives sheathed in their ornate scabbards. _

_Turning away from the fireplace, Ken's eyes fell onto the king sized bed in the center of the room. He took a step closer and saw that someone was asleep in the bed with a light blanket covering her petite body. "Kari?"_

_The young woman looked exactly like Kari except for perhaps a few years older. Her hair was long, wavy, and black with golden-brown highlights and it was swept over her shoulders. Ken stared in awe at the young beauty. Her skin was tanner than Kari's and he was willing to guess that Kari was a few inches shorter. _

_Ken was too absorbed in watching the young woman sleep that he didn't hear the noise of a door opening. Another presence walked towards him and Ken whipped his head up towards the stranger just as he stopped next to Ken._

_Ken's jaw dropped. An older version of himself now stood next to him. "I, um, well…" he trailed off. The older Ken did not even see him. "Hello?" Ken watched as the older version of him leaned down and kissed the forehead of the young woman. It was like Ken wasn't even there._

_There was a knock on the door. Ken's older self went to answer it and Ken followed to see who it was. A tall blonde was at the door. "Sir Ken-"_

_The older Ken pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh, she's finally asleep."_

_Sir Ken stepped out of the room and Ken rushed through just as it was being closed. "Sir Ken, Jagras has just returned."_

"_What does he have to report, Hayaki?" the older Ken inquired._

"_What we already suspected: we are out numbered by men, weapons, magic, and strength. The enemy is a week away from the capital, at the most. They'll be coming after the queen."_

_Sir Ken started pacing outside the door. "How do we know for sure that he's coming after Hikari?"_

"_She's the queen of the capital; if he removes Hikari when she has no heir or family to take the throne, he'll be able to take it without worrying about fighting a successor. Besides, she is his strongest opponent."_

_Sir Ken opened his mouth to reply, but the door to the bedroom reopened. "Hikari! You should be asleep!"_

"_I thought I heard voices. What are you two conspiring about at this hour of the night?"_

_Hayaki bowed his head with respect. "Forgive me, Queen Hikari, I was just wandering through the halls when I ran into Ken. I apologize for waking you."_

"_You didn't wake me. I was actually about to come find you; has Jagras returned?"_

_Hayaki lifted his head and looked to Sir Ken. "Yes, Milady. He was tired from his long journey and already fell asleep from exhaustion. He will be prepared to speak to you in the morning."_

_Queen Hikari nodded her head slightly. "Very well. Perhaps you should be off to bed then, too?"_

"_Yes, Milady."_

_Sir Ken opened the door and held it open for Hikari. She walked into the room and Sir Ken followed; Ken barely snuck in before the door shut on him. "Did you have a premonition about Jagras?" he asked._

"_Yes, and I must say that I'm disappointed that neither of you told me that Jagras had spoken to Hayaki. Why are you trying to deceive me?"_

_Sir Ken paused for a moment as the Queen stared at him with fiery eyes. "I want you to leave the capital," he said finally._

"_Why in the name of the Goddess would I do that when the enemy is days away from here?" she demanded._

"_They'll be coming to spill your blood!"_

"_Let them try," she growled._

"_We're outnumbered in every possible way-"_

"_So you want to send away someone capable of fighting? I'm not going to abandon my people when they need me. I will not abandon the men who are willing to fight for me!"_

"_Please, Hikari, just hear me out." Sir Ken took the young Queen's hands and urged her come closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I just don't want to worry about you getting hurt. Please, take refuge elsewhere in the kingdom and wait for me. When I have killed the enemy I will return to you."_

"_Do not ask this of me. I cannot agree to this. Besides, I can fend for myself."_

"_I know that you can, but we cannot risk losing you now. I cannot risk losing you now."_

"Get up; you are wasting the day away!"

Everything around Ken went black. His senses dulled and all that remained with him was what he could feel from the man who looked like him. Concern and love wrapped around him until reality reformed and he opened his eyes to see Usma leaning over him.

"'Bout time. I was ready to throw you off the bed. The sun has been up for hours."

A slight throbbing pulsed through Ken's neck and the remaining effects of the dream vanished. _That dream…it felt so real; like I've actually lived through that moment before._

Ken looked across the room to where Kari had been sleeping but the cot was empty. "Where is Kari?"

"She has been up since sunrise. Luther is teaching her a few things about using her weapon. 'Tis a shame that we couldn't find her sword; it would a great deal more affective."

"Sword?"

"Aye, but we couldn't find it in time. Your twin knives and the shields are also lost."

Ken walked out of the room with a confused look on his face. _Maybe the knives I saw in the dream are what she's talking about; wait…?_ "Kari is doing what?"

"Practicing," Usma walked towards the doorway leading to a primitive backyard. It was really just a bit of grassy area fenced in. She leaned against one side of the doorway so that Ken could see properly.

Kari circled around Luther with her dagger drawn as Luther did the same with his sword. "Don't wait all day to attack," he chided.

"Right, sorry." Kari lunged in and Luther blocked, rounding out his blade in an attempt to remove her weapon. Kari followed the motion to keep the dagger in her hand and drew back. She faked forward before sidestepping so she was behind him and placed the tip of the dagger between his shoulder blades.

"Very well done," Luther complimented before taking a quick step forward, whirling in a circle and grabbing onto Kari's forearm. He pulled her and she collided with his chest. "But remember, most of your enemies won't stop with a blade against their back. There are too many ways to get out of it unless you have a firm grip on them."

"Kind of like you do on me?" she joked after he kept his grip on her forearm.

Ken saw a small blush creep onto Luther's cheeks as he released her. They reset their forms and started anew. "How long have they been practicing?"

"A few hours," Usma replied. "You were asleep. Did you sleep well?"

"Um, sure."

"Did you have any dreams?"

"What? Why do you ask that?" he demanded.

"Kari had a frightful dream about her brother and boyfriend-"

"Boyfriend?"

"Aye, Matt X Ishida, if I'm not mistaken. They found out that she was missing and tore apart this Land of the Digital in search of her. Did you have any dreams?"

"No," he lied. _How did I not know that she was dating Matt? Idiot!_ "Um, hey, can I ask you something?"

"If you so desire," Usma replied.

"Can you see into the past and the future?"

"If there is something in either that I am meant to see. Why do you ask such a question?"

"I was wondering how you could tell which one you were seeing." _That dream was far too real to not mean something._

"The past has no air of uncertainty to it. The future always changes so it is not as concrete. You can feel it around you when you see something."

Ken nodded slightly. _How could have been the past if that guy was older than me? None of that stuff has happened so it has to be the future…no it definitely has happened. I just need to figure out where and when._

"Well good morning," Kari said brightly, pulling Ken from his thoughts.

Ken glared at her and her cheerfulness. She was unfazed however, and kept smiling. "What are you so freaking happy about?"

"Endorphins make you happy," she said. Kari took a deep breath and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She was sweating lightly and her skin glistened in the morning sunlight.

All Ken could think of was the young queen and her knight in the dream. It was them…but it wasn't. They were so in love and the knight was so worried about her. The throbbing in his neck returned and Ken pushed back all thoughts of the dream.

"You should have gotten up and learned how to use your sword. It's actually a lot of fun."

"Whatever," he growled.

Luther put his hands on Kari's shoulders. He gave his mother a meaningful look. "I know; I saw," she said.

Kari glanced up at him with slight confusion. "It's nothing," Luther said softly.

"I've put together some things for your travel. If you want to have a light breakfast before you go, Ken, there isn't much but please do help yourself."

Ken shrugged lightly. "Sure."

"Kari, why don't you show him where everything is?" Usma suggested.

Kari led Ken into the kitchen area and Usma ushered Luther back out of the small home. "I just do not understand; Kari had no dreams about her prior self last night and Ken is too consumed by darkness to listen or understand his!"

"We knew that Ken would be like this. It is as it was: Ken met Hikari when a Black Leech was inside him; there must be some equivalent that has a hold of him now or they would not have met this time around."

"I suppose you are correct, but that doesn't explain why Kari hasn't remembered anything about the queen. Being brought back should have been enough to trigger something."

Luther sighed deeply. "At least she is relearning fighting well enough. Perhaps they learn one thing before another can be unlocked." He rubbed his crooked nose in thought. "And they look like the stories say they should."

"I just hope they don't kill one another before they save Adeliea," Usma mused.

(0)

They'd been walking in silence for most of the afternoon. The occasional "keep up" was heard from Ken and a few choice words came from both of them. Usma had sent them into a forest, opposite of where they arrived the day before. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky and they were still more than a day from the next village.

All Usma had told them was to find the seamstress in the next village; the aging woman owed Usma a favor and would surely give them a place to stay and some clothes so they would not stand out so much.

Kari readjusted the bag and quiver of arrows on her shoulder and sighed deeply. "It will be sunset soon; we should start thinking about making camp for the night."

"There's no need to trouble yourselves with a camp," a voice said.

Ken looked back at Kari with an expression of concern. Three men jumped down from the trees to the space between the two trees. "Who are you?" Ken demanded.

"I am the bandit Asato. You are traveling in my forest and I demand a toll."

Ken sized up the man. He was slightly taller then him and tan and clad in a brown vest over a long sleeve white shirt. His pants were the same shade of brown and were tucked into his boots. A thin mustache crept over his lip and he had wild black hair that spiked out everywhere. The other two men wore white shirts and brown pants. One had nearly no hair on his head, save some light brown fuzz. The third man black hair and bangs and a ponytail with a single lock of hair tied back.

"We have no money," Ken said calmly.

"That's just fine," Asato said with a laugh. He snapped his fingers and before Ken could react, two men jumped down behind him and grabbed onto his arms. They pulled his arms behind his back and constricted his movements.

"Ken!" Kari screamed with alarm. Two more men jumped down and grabbed her as she tried to run to Ken's aid. One yanked off her bag and weapon and threw it to the ground. They grabbed her shoulders and held her still.

"Let her go," Ken warned.

"Since you have no money, I shall have to take your woman and your life," Asato explained. He waltzed over to where Kari was fighting the two bandits.

"I'm not his woman," Kari mumbled.

"If you touch her I swear I will kill you!"

Asato looked back at Ken with an eyebrow raised in amusement. He gave Ken a mocking smile before turning back towards Kari. Grabbing onto her throat, Asato forced Kari's head upward and licked her cheek.

His lips moved down to her throat and passed her collarbone. Kari screamed as he bit down into her flesh, drawing blood and licking it up greedily.

Ken could barely hear Kari scream. His eyes hurt to stay open so he blinked but found it hard to reopen them. His body felt weightless and the men holding onto him reacted as he slouched in his arms. "Boss, the boy isn't with us anymore."

_Ken reopened his eyes to see the older version of himself and Queen Hikari walking along the forest trail. They were walking hand-in-hand in a comfortable silence. Suddenly, Hikari stopped and looked around._

"_What is it?" Sir Ken asked._

_A man jumped down from the trees and drew his sword. "A fine young lady and a man with a fancy weapon; it must be my lucky day."_

"_Bandits," Sir Ken hissed with irritation, "they love showing up at the worst times."_

"_I won't be long," the bandit promised. "Just give me the woman and your sword and I'll be on my way."_

"_Do you have any idea who you are trying to pick a fight with?" Hikari inquired._

"_Not a one," the bandit admitted. "Not that it matters."_

_Hikari pulled an arrow out from her quiver and aimed her bow at the threat. "Leave us be and I will spare your life."_

A sharp pain erupted through Ken's stomach starting at his stomach and he felt his body cave from the impact. He blinked several times and returned to reality; Asato had kneed him in the stomach to awaken him. _Why was I shown that now? Maybe it could have helped._

Ken readjusted his weight back on his feet. "Stay awake, I want you to see what I do to your woman," Asato growled.

Ken looked over towards Kari. She was staring at him intently, obviously worried by what happened. He saw two puncture wounds just below her neck which were seeping out with thin trickles of blood. "Kari! Let her go," Ken pleaded.

Laughing deeply, Asato shook his head. "I'm gonna use your woman and then I'm gonna kill the both of you. You just be sure to stay awake and watch."

He returned to where Kari was and licked up the lines of blood trailing down her exposed flesh. "What are you?" Kari questioned. She felt a demonic aura seeping through his skin.

"You don't want to know," he whispered before nipping her ear. "I gonna make you scream loud enough to keep the boy stirring. How does that sound?"

Panicking slightly, Ken's thoughts began to race. _Oh God, we're going to die! I didn't get sent to this world just to be killed. I have to free myself and help Kari! I can't just stand here while he…oh God, would he? Maybe Usma saw this and sent Luther to save us…no, we're a good half a day's walk away from the village. Maybe someone will come along and save us. _

Kari yelped in pain as Asato bit down on her ear again, drawing blood. "Please, let me go," she whispered softly. Tears flooded her eyes and clouded her vision. "Please," she repeated.

"Don't worry, Pet. This won't take too long. Men, why don't you tie the boy up and get in line?"

The two men gripping Ken's arms dragged him to the nearest tree and tied him too it. Ken tried to escape as one loosened his grip to get the rope, but the other smashed his head against the bark, dulling Ken's senses.

Kari sent a pleading look to the man with little hair. "Boss?" the man said, rubbing his head. "Why don't we let her go? There are plenty of girls who take this path. We can get another by this time next week."

Asato drew a deep breath and exhaled in the man's direction. A thin knife shot out of his mouth and struck the man right between the eyes. He fell down dead with a heavy thud.

Kari screamed and tried to pull herself out of her captors' grips.

_We really are going to die!_ Ken thought as the knot was tied, binding him to the tree.

(00)

CLIFFHANGER!

I don't know if knives go in scabbards too, but I'm gonna guess and say sure!

I learned something a while back that I thought I'd share with you. Almost every Takari lover will use the episode where Kari gets transported to the Dark Ocean to support the pairing. TK confessed that he _really cared about her_ and blah, blah, blah. The only problem is that the translators added that part in when they made the dub. The Japanese version doesn't say that! I just thought I'd let you know.

_Chapter Started June 30, 2006_

_Chapter Completed and Posted July 3, 2006_


	6. Truce

**Adeliea **

**Chapter Six: Truce**

Kari stared in horror at the dead man as a thin line of blood slid down the side of his forehead. Everything went out of focus except for his still body and the knife that had penetrated his flesh. She felt sick and could taste bile in her throat.

She didn't notice when the two men holding onto her backed away. It wasn't until she felt Asato's breath on her cheek and his hand running along her thigh that she returned to the scene at hand.

"Such strange material," Asato mused as he stroked the jean fabric. "This must have cost quite a bit."

"Yes," Kari answered instantly, not really sure what she was doing. "My father is a very wealthy man. If you let us go–unharmed–then I'm sure he would give you a great reward."

"Is that a fact? A thousand pardons Pet, but if we wanted your father's money then we would just kill him and take it."

"Isn't that what all this is about? Didn't you want a stupid toll?"

Asato pointed an accusatory finger towards Ken. "It was he that assumed that I wanted a monetary toll. Truly all I desire is your body and both of your lives."

Ken struggled against the rope that bound him. The bandits had wrapped it around him four times before tying it off, extending from the center of his upper arms to his wrists. The hilt of his sword was also roped in so Ken could not somehow manage to put it from the scabbard. Not that he would know what to do with it if he did grab hold of it.

"And my men want the same," Asato finished.

Ken remained silent as he tried to figure some way to save himself and Kari. _It would be a lot easier to think clearly if I had the confidence that Kari suddenly does._

It was as if she was a different person; Kari's voice was strong with confidence and determination and tears no longer blurred her vision. Fear no longer halted her movements, either.

She backed away from Asato slowly, but he matched each of her steps with even larger strides. Asato laid his hand on Kari's shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "There is no where to run, Pet."

Kari drew her dagger with unexpected speed and plunged it into Asato's chest. He stared down at her for a moment; a mixture of shock and anger contorted his features.

"Not smart, Pet."

A crunching sound could be heard and the back of Asato's shirt tore as a set of wings were pushed out and spread. His mustache lengthened and morphed into feelers, his nose caved in and his eyes became long slits that angled upwards.

The bandits had known that Asato was not human, but they fled upon seeing his true form. Asato growled in frustration as the last of the men hid their backs as they ran further into the forest.

The dagger was pulled out and tossed backwards, ending up stuck to the tree that Ken was captive to. It pierced through between two wraps of the rope. _Why couldn't it have sliced through the rope?_

"Now I will have to kill you," Asato threatened, grabbing onto Kari's throat before she could run. She clawed at his extended arm as he lifted her off the ground. Her throat closed from the pressure he applied and her strength was fading quickly. He tossed Kari aside and she fell limply like a rag doll.

She did not get up.

Ken began his struggle anew; now trying to shift the rope enough to catch the blade. _This is going to take forever!_

The dagger began to glow with a dark blue light. It tore through the bark as it traveled downward, slicing the rope as it went.

Ken threw the rope to the ground and drew his sword. "I should have practiced," he mumbled regrettably. His grip was tight around the hilt but the blade noticeably shook–.

Why hadn't Kari gotten up yet?

He'd never realized before that moment the exact dangers that accompanied two fighting parties. Sure, he'd engaged in many a battle between the digidestined and himself, but he'd always been safe atop one of his controlled digimon. He'd never actively partaken in one of the battles unlike Kari and the others who always stood by their digimon. They were always there, always in the line of fire. He'd targeted Davis and the others on more than one occasion but it never occurred to him the consequences of his actions. He'd been fighting a war without understanding the basic facts:

People died in wars.

He'd always put himself out of harm's way and therefore he'd remained oblivious to it all.

Kari had been fighting longer than him and yet she still stood at the front of the lines every time. She understood the possibilities and still she fought.

Then again, she'd always fought for something bigger than herself.

He'd always fought for his own personal gain.

Ken cringed, realizing that he was no better than a coward, forcing others to do the dirty work for him. He sent digimon off to die if need be; sent them off to kill if that's what it came to.

No more.

Ken was filled with an overpowering desire to protect Kari from that kind of torment; starting with Asato. He gripped the blade expertly, letting instinct take over.

"Asato." Ken's voice was low and strong and it carried over to Asato in the wind.

Kari still hadn't moved.

Asato's gaze left her limp body, which was only a few feet from him now, and fell upon the resolute figure holding his sword out straight. "Think you can take me, boy? That weapon of yours may be quite fancy, but it won't help you if you don't know how to use it."

"I'm sure I can manage," Ken replied coolly. "Especially against someone who was about to attack an unarmed and incapacitated _woman_."

Asato's face twisted into a snarl and he charged at Ken, kicking off the ground and flapping his wings to raise himself into the air. He slammed his body into Ken's and sent the dark haired teen to the ground.

Ken quickly scrambled to his feet and thrust his blade forward. It plunged into Asato's abdomen but the demon kicked Ken in the stomach. "You do not know whom you're trying to fight. I am unbeatable."

The sword was pulled from Asato's side by the demon himself and tossed aside carelessly. Ken jumped up and punched Asato in the jaw before quickly circling around and kicking his lower back.

Falling onto his knees, Asato rubbed his jaw delicately. The boy had spirit, he would allot him that much, but he was inexperienced. His wings flapped out and he rose into the air again, attacking downward at Ken with his extended claws.

Neither noticed as Kari lifted her head crudely. Nor did they see her as she used her elbows to snake along the ground, too weak to stand. She reached her discarded belongings and grabbed at her bow. She hadn't practiced with it earlier that day and now she wished that she had.

She bit her lip to concentrate pain on anything but her aching body as she rose into a sitting position. Taking an arrow, she lined it up experimentally on the arrow rest and pulled at the bow string. It was stiff and difficult to wield, as if it had been out of commission for many years. But she managed to pull it back, bringing her palm to her ear, and took aim.

"_Please don't miss._"

The arrow spun through the air after its release and buried itself just below Asato's shoulder blade. A second arrow tore right through his wing, into the second, and disappeared in the forestry.

Ken ducked out of the way and dived for his blade. Asato landed heavily, his eyes burning as the arrow was pulled out of his flesh.

He was livid.

"No woman is worth the trouble you cause," he growled. He started towards her as she tried to will herself to her feet.

"Did you forget about me already?" Ken demanded with false disappointment. He held his blade above his head and swept it downward diagonally. Asato held his hands up to shield himself but it was too late. The blade cut down through his clavicle bone and sliced through his torso before exiting just above his hip.

He fell to the ground in two pieces.

Kari covered her mouth to mask her scream and turned away from the bloody scene. Ken dropped the sword from his hands and ran to her, falling onto his knees and wrapping his arms around her before he even commanded his body to.

She melted into his arms immediately, not questioning his reasons for coming to comfort her. She just accepted his warm embrace, letting her head rest against his chest, not crying but shaking with grief.

Ken held onto her like she would be carried off by the wind if he loosened up in the least. He stroked her hair amorously and rocked her gently in his arms.

It only took Kari a moment to rationalize what was truly happening: she was seeking comfort in the arms of her sworn enemy. It wasn't right, she knew it and there was no way around it. What would the others think? What would Tai think?

_Tai._

The horrifying realization that she might not see Tai again struck her painfully. It tormented her enough to hang on to Ken a moment longer, absorbed in her own irrational delusions. What if they never found a way home and the last memory Tai would have of her would be her ignoring him because of Matt?

She pulled away so suddenly that Ken nearly fell flat on his face. It took her a minute to steady herself onto her feet, but Kari would not accept his help. She dragged her feet over to where her dagger was still embedded in the tree.

Ken reached his hand out to her but something stopped him.

_She doesn't want you to touch her._

The voice did not belong to Ken but it appeared so often in his head that it might as well have been.

_Not now. Go away._

Ken grabbed the sides of his head in anticipation of the headache that always accompanied _the_ voice, but it never came. Nothing happened; it had left as quickly as it had come. But the words still stung at his mind with a sharp and painful honesty in them that sobered him. But for Christ's sake he was the Kaiser and he was above all of this! Wasn't he?

"Ken?"

Ken looked up, startled. Kari was looking down on him with concern etched into her features. "Are you alright?"

Ken let his hands drop back down to his sides. "I'm fine."

"Then we should get moving."

"You think the other bandits will come back?" Ken guessed.

"No–they were loyal to Asato only because they feared him. They won't come back after they see–that." She pointed towards the two heaps of flesh and bone that had once been known as the bandit Asato. "I just don't want to be near two corpses."

Ken nodded and brought himself to his feet. His sword was stained in blood and the dark haired teen used the fabric from Asato's pant leg to wipe the odorous liquid away.

They started off in silence, neither really having anything to contribute to start a healthy conversation. Ken fought with himself to find something to say–_anything_. "Kari?"

She granted him a quick glance, to show that he had her attention, before setting her gaze on the ground.

"I'm sorry."

She stopped, genuinely confused by the statement. "For what? You saved my life back there. Why would you be apologizing?"

He swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, "for the other day–in the Digital World."

Her eyes lightened in realization of what he was talking about. "Oh… To tell you the truth, I'd forgotten about it."

Ken thought it would have been a really good time to face fault in the dirt and never get up.

"I see." He sighed deeply. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but I suggest we call a truce."

"A truce?"

"Yes. We obviously won't make it out of here alive unless we work together, so let's call a truce now until we get out of here. Then when this is all done, you can go back to doing whatever it is you do and I'll go back to being the Kaiser." He hadn't planned on saying that; he had no desire of saying that. But the last words came out with such certainty that it would be foolish to try to deny them.

She nodded slightly in understanding. "Of course," she answered softly, disappointment evident in her voice.

They picked out the spot where they would set up camp for the night, even though darkness had already fallen and the moonlight was all they had to use. There was a small clearing not far from the path they had been walking on.

Kari held the bag upside down and let the items within tumble to the ground. She rummaged through the items Usma had gathered for her: two blankets, a hairbrush, some sort of toothpaste from what she could guess, soap, shampoo, a pouch for carrying water, and some food.

She grabbed onto the soap bar and small container of shampoo and sighed happily. "I'm going to take a bath," she announced.

"Did she pack a bathtub for you?" Ken inquired icily.

"We passed a pond or lake or pool or something not five minutes before we stopped."

"You are not going to bathe in a lake."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you aren't. It's going to be freezing and then you'll get sick and I'll have to put up with you. Besides, there might be something in the water."

Kari sighed, irritated. "You just focus on getting a fire started. I'll be back in less than a half hour." She got up, ignoring his annoyed expression. "And don't even _think_ of coming to get me," she added threateningly.

Kari took one of the blankets to use as a towel and made her way back to where she'd seen the small pool. She had to find the path again and then cut through on the other side, but it was secluded and the moon lit up the water majestically. Though she was surprised at how she found it when she couldn't see it from the pathway the second time around. It was more like she _knew_ it was there, rather than having seen it.

Looking around cautiously, Kari inspected the area for any unwanted onlookers. Satisfied that she was alone, Kari stripped down and put her clothes into a neat pile beneath the blanket. Her dagger was placed just before the edge of the water, as was the soap and shampoo.

Dipping her foot into the water, a shiver ran through her body. Ignoring the icy temperature, Kari slipped into the lake until the water was at her shoulders. Her teeth chattered and her body shook, but she still tilted her head backwards until her hair was completely wet. She pulled out the hair band and let the long black tresses fall against her back and shoulders.

She heard a twig snap.

"Ken?" she called out nervously, "Ken, is that you?"

She returned to the water's edge, where the water level only reached her waist. She shivered and covered her exposed upper body with one hand while searching the grass with the other.

She found a rock the size of her palm and threw it in the direction of the noise. She waited for a reaction of some sort, an animal running or something, but nothing happened.

Kari decided to try again. She felt around for another rock but there wasn't one to be found. She sighed and grabbed her belt. Throwing it in the same direction as the rock, the belt disappeared into the shrubbery.

"You're getting paranoid, Kari," she scolded lightly, sinking back into the water.

(0)

Ken stared darkly at the twigs and grass he'd thrown together inside a rock circle. He'd gathered enough wood to last for a while, but had no way of lighting the twigs. He sank down to the ground in defeat and leaned against a tree.

His eyes felt heavy and he knew he shouldn't fall asleep before Kari came back, but he couldn't help himself.

"_Not a chance, Hikari."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because that water will be freezing and you'll catch your death of cold. Besides, you just aren't dirty enough."_

_Ken groaned and smacked his hand against his face. Was he really watching _another_ one of these dream sequences play out?_

_Hikari raised an eyebrow and set her hands comfortably on her hips. "Not dirty enough? Isn't that a matter of opinion? Come on, it will be fun."_

_Sir Ken wrapped his arms around Hikari's waist and laced his fingers together around the small of her back. "Icy water and fun don't really go together," he whispered in a hushed voice._

_He caught her in a passionate kiss, pulling her against his hard chest. Hikari lifted her hand to touch his face and his fingers trailed down the length of her back._

"_This is just peachy," Ken growled, leaning back further against the tree. "Just what I need to see. At least show me something _believable, _something that could actually happen!" He didn't know exactly who he was yelling at, but it felt good to blame someone for these disturbing images._

_He watched, growing ever more irritable as Sir Ken lowered the queen to the ground, never releasing her lips. The knight stabilized himself above her, trailing kissed along her jaw and down her neck. Her arm fell to the side and her hand dipped into the small pool of water they had been previously arguing over. She wanted them to take a bath; he thought it was a ridiculous idea. It was almost like the conversation he had with Kari a few moments prior, except for the part where she invited him to join her, or the kissing–of course. _

_Hikari cupped her hand underneath the surface of the water and let a handful gather in her palm. She then let the water drip down onto the nape of the knight's neck._

"_Hikari!" he cried loudly, jumping back and sitting on his knees, "what was that for?"_

_She smiled mischievously, shrugging ever so slightly. She turned from him and sat down beside the pool, raising herself up on her knees and staring down at the water._

"_I suppose it is a bit chilly?" she offered._

_Sir Ken merely grunted as he stood and crossed his arms over his chest._

_Queen Hikari began moving her hands horizontally in the air. Ken sat up a little straighter to get a better look and saw that on the surface of the water little waves began following her movements. Hikari dipped her hand in the water once more; steam began rising from the small pool of water._

"_I know you didn't want to come in, so I promise to be quick," Hikari teased when Sir Ken ran his fingers along the surface of the now steaming water. _

"_Wake up!" Ken demanded of himself. "This is bull shit and I'm sick of watching. Wake up!" Ken's hands felt heated as his anger rose, and a dark blue mist wrapped around the palm and fingers of his left hand. _

The image around Ken faded into nothingness and he allowed a relieved sigh to escape his lips. The flickering of fire caught Ken's eye. A small fire blazed before him, in the pathetic little pit he had constructed. But how had the fire started?

_Magic?_

Ken glared down at his tingling left hand. "Impossible," he muttered aloud. Still, there was fire where there previously wasn't, and that could not be ignored.

_Maybe Kari…_

He glanced around, pulling himself into an upright position. It didn't look like Kari was back yet. His thoughts jumped back to the dream he had. He didn't believe for one second that he was actually watching himself in those visions, nor was that the same girl he was traveling with now.

They were look-alikes.

Imposters.

Fakes.

None of it was real; it never was and it never will be. Someone was obviously trying to convince him that in some lifetime or another he and Kari were lovers.

It was impossible–unrealistic. Kari would never want to be with someone like him–no, he knew he was too good for the Digidestined of Light.

_I don't want her…no one can convince me that I want to be with her. Don't dwell on dreams that couldn't possibly be real._

He didn't understand why it was so hard for him to believe the sincerity in his own thoughts.

"Ken?"

His eyes were instantly drawn to her, his mind filling itself with the sound of her voice. Her hair had been brushed through, though water droplets still sparkled from the black tresses in the moonlight. It was all thrown over one shoulder, bound by the hair band Usma had given her.

"How was the water," he asked, leaning back against the tree.

"Freezing," Kari admitted. She tossed him the dry blanket and sat down in front of the fire. She laid the blanket over her legs so that the fire might dry it. She had tried not to get it too wet, but she had been in such a rush to get out of there that when she dropped it on the ground to begin dressing, the corner dipped into the pool. She even left her belt behind in order to leave faster.

Ken left the blanket folded up beside him and just watched Kari for a moment. He had half expected her to tell him that she had warmed up the pool.

Kari visibly shivered as she settled down to go to sleep. She drew her knees up to her chin and pulled her arms between her thighs and stomach. The blanket was still wet and did little for her.

Ken took the blanket and stood up, went over to where Kari was, and slowly, with much mental debate, sat down beside her.

"What are you doing," Kari inquired, turning her head up to look at him.

"We're sharing," he replied, sounding harsher than he intended. "Besides, my body heat will warm you up."

"You don't have to–,"

"I can't just let you get sick. I'll have to put up with you." He settled down next to her. He lay on his side, holding his head up with his hand. "Just don't tell your boyfriend."

Kari's leg straightened out and she turned onto her back. "Who said I have a boyfriend?"

He found it increasingly difficult to think at this point, he mind kept returning to the realization that his face wasn't far from hers. "Usma mentioned it," he answered, trying to sound indifferent. "That Matt guy."

"I'm not dating 'That Matt Guy'" Kari whispered. "Not anymore. I told Usma that he was my ex."

_Her boyfriend, Matt X Ishida. Well, that explains the weird middle initial._

"Why aren't you dating anymore?"

Kari paused, surprised that the conversation had carried so long. It almost seemed like he actually cared…

"He wasn't ready to be in a real relationship. He needed to be free to flirt and make out with whomever he desired. But, it doesn't matter; I'm over it."

Ken noticed that her voice was unusually somber as she explained. It made him question whether she really was over Matt.

There faces seemed closer now–had he done that?

He found her nose to be only an inch or two from his now, his face directly above hers. He tilted his head just slightly, as he began to close the gap between them.

"We should probably get to sleep," Kari quickly said, turning onto her side and nearly whacking Ken with her shoulder. He withdrew just in time, mentally cursing himself for what he was about to do.

Was he really about to kiss her?

"We should leave as soon as the sun rises, so we can make it to the next village as early as possible," she continued, not looking at him.

"Yeah…sure." Ken draped his arm over Kari's waist and pressed his chest against his back.

_Body heat,_ he reminded himself._ It's just so I won't have to put up with her getting sick._

(00)

I made it longer to make up for the delay.

I probably won't have many postings for a while, only because I'm too depressed to write anything. If I do, it will be _Obsession_ or maybe I'll write up some parts of _Adeliea_ where either Ken or Kari get into trouble or angsty Ken moments. I only decided to finish this chapter now because it was almost done. If I try to write anything 'fluffy' it will be horribly forced and yuck. Hopefully I'll snap out of this and return to my normal level of depression, where I can actually write.

_Chapter Started July 26, 2006_

_Chapter Completed and Posted August 15, 2006 _


End file.
